Adenophora or bellflower

Family: Campanulaceae. The name comes from the Greek words 'aden' — gland and "phoros" — to bear, which literally means gland-bearing; the ovary of the plants is covered with wart-like glands.

The genus includes more than 50 species, mainly distributed in East Asia. Perennial herbaceous plants, mostly with branched stems up to 150 cm tall. Leaves are ovate, elliptic, oblong, lanceolate, petiolate or sessile, arranged alternately or in whorls. Flowers are large, bell-shaped, tubular-bell or funnel-shaped, blue, blue-violet, light blue. Fruit is a capsule. Seeds are ovoid, slightly flattened.

Soil: undemanding; they grow on any cultivated soil, but prefer neutral or slightly alkaline soils, well-drained loams. Moisture-loving, but do not tolerate waterlogging. Spread quickly.

Care: respond to fertilizers with abundant flowering. The root system is taprooted - they do not like transplanting.

Propagation: by sowing seeds, division of the clump and cuttings. Seeds are small. Sowing should be done in trays; freeze or stratify in the cold for about a month. Germinate at t° 18-20°. They bloom in the second to third year after sowing. Vegetatively, they can be propagated by basal cuttings at the beginning of spring growth.

Uses: in mixed borders, suitable for cut flowers. Distinctive when planted in small groups.